B·Debate devotes upcoming session to microbiome

The topics of this scientific debate, which will be held on 30 June and 1 July at CosmoCaixa, will include the microbiome in the prenatal and childhood stages

23/05/2016

The microbiome is the collection of microorganisms that inhabit the human body –90% of which are bacteria– and it plays an essential role in how the body works and in our health. In recent years, scientists have begun to unravel its scientific and therapeutic potential in many disciplines of medicine and have shown that alterations in this system can be associated with diseases such as obesity, diabetes, certain types of cancer and HIV.

After the scientific debate on the microbiome B·Debate held last year, this new event will delve deeper into the human microbiome in the prenatal and childhood stages, as its role in gestation and birth is relatively unknown. Moreover, microbiome-based diagnoses can be useful in preventing diseases, like asthma, in children.

Program and speakers

The scientific leaders of this B·Debate are Dr. Bonaventura Clotet, director of the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, and Dr. Roger Paredes, a researcher at the same center. Along with the rest of the speakers, these scientists will discuss several studies that associate the microbiome with cancer immunology, viruses and infectious diseases, AIDS, metabolic disorders and obesity.
The scientific debate will also cover the latest innovations in fecal transplants and probiotics, as well as the impact of drugs and diet as decisive factors in the health of our microbiome.